A Dark Moment
by Allyarra
Summary: Harry's life has been wonderful since the downfall of Voldemort. Now, that's changing as he deals with a serial killer on the looseand the researchers at the Royal Academy of Magic attempting to study the Deathly Hallows. Something dark is happening.
1. Part I

Gunther Berta looked up from the report he had just finished reading and grinned at the group of people waiting for him. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, you have successfully proven that the great Harry Potter did indeed use all three of the legendary Deathly Hallows during his final battle with the former Dark Lord."

The five or so people who he was addressing all smiled and let out sighs of relief, glad their years of research had finally paid off. "Now, I know we don't currently know the location of any of the objects in question but I fully intend to get into contact with Auror Potter so we can continue our study on the artifacts."

"Sir, there's just one problem. They belong to Potter; we have no right to try to get our hands on them. We've taken this as far as we can; we've proven the existence of the Deathly Hallows. What more can we do with this? It's enough as it is." the tall man standing at the back of the group spoke up and his colleagues all made sounds of agreement at his words.

Berta only smiled widely at the man. "Heider, we're studying artifacts with great potential to help the world. We owe it to society to study the Hallows and learn all we can from them. Think of the breakthroughs we can make with just the wand!" Heider shifted uneasily but nodded his acceptance reluctantly. "The five of you head home now, you've done great work. I'll see you on Monday and in the meantime I'll write to Mr. Potter to see what can be done about studying those Hallows, understood?"

Berta's team of researchers smiled and said their goodbyes before heading home to be with their families for the weekend. Their boss, on the other hand, went back to perusing the packet of parchment he held in his hands. His formally kind smile slowly transformed into a smirk as he pulled out a free sheet of parchment and a quill.

His elegant handwriting soon began to fill the sheet underneath the heading that read: Royal Academy of Magic, Director of Mythological Research: Gunther Berta. The neat office was silent except for the scratching of his quill as he wrote the letter he knew would make him famous.

* * *

Harry sighed wearily as he looked up from his desk in the Auror office and noticed the time. He swore softly when he noticed that it read an hour after he was supposed to arrive home. Reluctantly he stowed the reports he had been reading feverishly and prepared to return to his family. He was happy to be going home to his wife and kids, but his latest case was very worrying and he couldn't help but want to solve it, even if it did mean sacrificing time with his loved ones.

The office was almost deserted but there were a few people still working. His team, he noticed, had all left. Harry stood and headed towards the exit, waving goodbye to the few people still there. There wasn't a line at the apparition point and Harry managed to get home without being any later than he already was.

He arrived in the front hall of his home and smiled as he heard the sounds coming from the kitchen. All the stress that had accumulated throughout his long day at work seemed to fade as he put his cloak away and then headed towards the noise. What he found made him grin for the first time since he had left the house that morning.

His eldest son, James, was currently sitting at the head of the table with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Albus, his year younger brother was at the feet of the chair James was sitting in and was tugging at his brother's leg, looking a bit put out. The youngest of his three children, and the only girl, was sitting in her high chair and making more progress in furthering her artistic abilities than with getting any food actually into her mouth (although quite a bit had made it onto her face). His wife was presiding over the entire circus with a look that Harry recognized as her trying to hide her worry. That look quickly turned to relief when she noticed Harry standing in the doorway.

"Harry Potter! You are an hour late and your sons have been refusing to eat dinner for the past hour because you weren't here! What do you have to say for yourself, Mister?" Ginny asked in a sharp tone as she attempted to wipe the peas off of Lily's face. Lily wasn't being very cooperative since she had seen her father, and being a complete Daddy's girl, had instantly begun attempting to reach him.

The boys, on the other hand, had success in that arena as they both pounced on his legs, clamping onto them very tightly. "Daddy! Jamie said that you had gone away and put him in charge until you got back and all I was allowed to eat are veggietables and that Lily was gonna sleep in the basement and that I had to sleep with Kreacher and that-" Albus blurted out without pausing with only the tone a distressed three year old has.

Ginny looked at James sharply, which made Harry quickly intercede lest Ginny go into one of the famous Weasley Mother Rants. "Don't worry Al, I'm here and you get to stay in your own room. Jamie, what did your mum and I tell you about making up stories like that?" Harry scolded his son as he detached the two from his legs and gave them hugs for a hello. "You know you're not supposed to do things like that."

James hung his head with shame, "'m sorry Daddy. I won't do it again."

"See that you don't, now sit down. You two have put off your dinners long enough. Your father's here now so eat up. You don't have anymore excuses." Ginny interrupted and shooed the boys to their seats, which already had heaping plates in front of them. Once her sons had been taken care of she turned to their father. "Why in Merlin's name are you so late? We'll be having a discussion about this later," she warned him, but she still pecked him on the cheek as he passed her on the way to get his own dinner.

"It got caught up in my case, we'll talk about it later. I'm sorry I'm late." Harry told her as he sat down and then turned to Lily, whose high chair was on his right. He lifted her from her seat as she shrieked in delight. "Hello, princess. Yes, I missed you too."

"Dada!" Lily shrieked and used her tiny fists to cling onto her father's shirt. At just over a year old she wasn't able to speak very well, but she was quite proficient in getting her point across. One of her favorite points to make was that while she loved her family there was no doubt that her father was her absolute favorite person. Since Lily looks were a great deal like Ginny's, the little girl's mother always laughed and said that Lily took after her in more than just looks.

Lily continued to occupy her father's lap while Harry ate his dinner and heard about every little detail that had occurred in his children's lives that day. While many people may have gotten annoyed with all of the insignificant information that littered their tale, Harry didn't mind in the least. One of his favorite times of the day was dinner with his family and hearing the story of the boys' day.

After dinner was through the two adults began the ordeal of keeping their children occupied. That ordeal meant trying to ware the children out enough so that they would fall asleep in a timely manner. They managed to do so fairly well and soon the two adults were alone in the kitchen while their children slept soundly in their rooms.

As the two of them began to clean the mess from dinner Ginny turned to Harry for the talk she had promised him earlier. "This is the third time you've been late in the past two weeks, Harry. What's going on that has you so concerned?" she demanded and fixed him with a pointed look just as he was about to protest. "Don't you dare try to pass it off as nothing, Mister. I've known you for too long for you to think you could try to get something past me. And besides that fact, I'm also the mother of your rather mischievous children who are exactly like you. I know all your tricks."

Harry chuckled at her words and then sat down at the table, motioning for Ginny to join him. "My latest case is disturbing, to say the least. Some monster out there is kidnapping women and then murdering them. Their bodies are left out in the open, without even an attempt to hide them. The worst part is that their killer also takes a part of them with him." Harry's voice was tense with emotion as he looked at his wife and tried hard not to remember some of the scenes where bodies had been discovered.

"There have been four victims so far. All of them have been female with ages ranging from 25 to 30 years of age. All of them were killed in the same way, suffocation. The first victim was missing her eyes and was found in a dumpster a day after she died. That was just over two weeks ago and she was found two days after she went missing." Harry's voice was rough with emotion and he rested his head in his hands as Ginny placed her hand on his shoulder. "The second was missing her hands, the third her ears and nose. The fourth was missing her legs, but her feet were left with her body in an empty warehouse."

Ginny stood abruptly and went to stand at the window while Harry continued to talk. "Another woman was reported missing this morning and we couldn't find her until this afternoon. Her body was missing its lower jaw." Ginny turned back towards her husband and found him watching her intently.

"Should you be telling me this? I mean, this sounds official and I don't think it's something that all the public should know, at least not the details." she asked, struggling to keep her voice light.

Harry stood and walked the few steps to her and embraced her tightly, burying his face in her hair. "The ministry is making an announcement about a serial killer tomorrow. I'm telling you this because I want you to be careful. These women who are dying are all around your age and I don't want you to be hurt. Please don't go anywhere by yourself Ginny. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"I won't. I'll be careful." She whispered the words into his chest. "Just promise me you'll be careful too."

"Of course, love." Harry told her. After he spoke the silence stretched between them as they drew strength from each other. A long moment later Ginny pulled away from him and turned to other subjects.

"There's a new letter from the Royal Academy of Magic. It arrived this morning. They want to confirm the time for your arrival there with the Elder Wand tomorrow."

Harry snorted at her words and led her out of the kitchen and towards their room. "Oh? Was this letter addressed to you or do you make it a habit to read my mail?" Ginny gave him a smirk that he found irresistible as they entered their room and he swooped in to capture her lips with his own.

* * *

The next morning was Saturday and, as usual, Harry was up early to make breakfast and take care of the children. Both James and Lily were morning people like him while Albus was very much like his mother in his avoidance of waking at a reasonable hour. This particular morning was special because the three children and their mother would be spending the day at their grandparents', one of their favorite places to visit.

They would spend the morning there and Harry would join them after lunch, since he had several things he had to do before going to the Burrow. Of course, the children weren't very happy with that because they always claimed that the Burrow wasn't as much fun without Daddy, and all their numerous uncles, there. Before they would even agree to floo he had to promise to arrive as soon as could. That promise they greeted skeptically, at least the boys did since Lily was too young to understand everything, but still went to the Burrow.

After both boys had gone through Ginny turned to Harry and gathered up Lily in her arms since the little girl was too young to use the floo by herself. "Let me know if you'll be later than one." she told him, kissed him on the cheek, and then stepped into the green flames and left.

Harry quickly locked up the house and left as well, the mundane way through the front door. He walked for a block before stopping in a dark alley and apparating to Diagon Alley. Once there his first stop was Gringotts where he stopped in his vault and was seen leaving it holding a small parcel. The next stop took just a bit longer and that was at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. He slipped inside the store, caught his brother-in-law's eye and then slipped into the back room.

He waited for a few moments before George appeared, bearing a rather large grin. "What can I do for you today, Harry, old chap?" he asked jovially.

"I need the item that you've been keeping for me." Harry told him rather seriously, although he did manage to smile while doing so.

"This item you speak of, does it happen to be the one you gave me before or after your eldest son was born?" George asked with a curious tone in his voice. "Or was it the one that came right before that trip to the Hog's Head? I seem to remember firewhiskey and Ron claiming had the 'fastest wand this side of Atlantis', am I correct?"

Harry shot the redhead a warning look a before he responded. "The second one I ever gave you, after the Triwizard Tournament. And it was this side of the Silk Road, but that's irrelevant because we promised never to speak of that night again, or your mum might be learning a few interesting facts. Maybe I should tell her what you did to her favorite vase, the one that was an heirloom?"

George paled at his words and quickly repented for his actions before leading Harry into his private workroom, which was through a hidden door at the back of the storage room. Once there he quickly pushed a few of the numerous items littering the room out of the way. Then he pointed his wand at the floor, winked at Harry, and pronounced "I did it, mum."

Harry doubled over laughing at the choice of password as the hidden door swung open to reveal stairs leading down. Regaining his composure Harry followed the older man down, closing the trapdoor behind him.

"That's the perfect password, no one would ever think of it and you'd never say it." Harry said.

"That's why I chose it." George responded. "Now what's going on that you need the old Elder Wand?"

Harry sighed and sat down in one of the comfy chairs in the surprisingly well lit hidden chamber. "I guess you of all people deserve to know the details, especially since I entrusted you with the safety of one of them.

"About two months ago the Royal Academy of Magic contacted me in regards to the Deathly Hallows. I responded that I had no idea what they were talking about. From there we began to negotiate and about a week ago I agreed to take in the Elder Wand to be studied as long as certain conditions were met." Harry glanced up to see that George was listening with a strangely blank expression on his face.

"The conditions are that I will bring in the Elder Wand and that I will place it where it will be held, no one else will touch it. It will have constant security and I have the power to remove it, and anyone who I feel will be problematic for its safety, at any time I wish. They will only study it when someone I have specifically said could supervise in my stead is there. Also, I will have access to all findings and I will get to decide any decisions that will need to be made regarding those findings. Those were my conditions, and that I could add on to the conditions at any time. Do you have anything that I should add to the list?"

George didn't answer for a long moment and just stood there before turning to one of the pictures on the wall, a landscape, and lifting it off the wall. "Not at the moment, but I'll think on it and let you know." George answered slowly as he pulled out the Elder Wand from the small hollow that had bend hidden by the landscape. "Here's your wand."

Harry stood to take it from him and the strange expression George had been wearing was replaced with a smirk. "I've been thinking that maybe I should sell this as one of my fake wands, just to see what would happen. Purely for research's sake."

Harry's response was a snort of disbelief, "you mean for chaos's sake, don't you." George shrugged and led the way out of the hidden room and back into the storage room.

"You say potato, I say potata. Will you be at the Burrow later?"

"About one, I've got to head to the Academy first. I'll see you later." Harry answered before leaving the store and apparating away from Diagon Alley.

He reappeared in front of a rather large mansion that looked like it was on the verge of being a castle. Cautiously he entered the building to find an entrance hall and a witch at a welcome desk.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see a Mr. Gunther Berta. We have a meeting." The witch glanced up from her magazine, nodded, pressed a button that was hidden because of the wall around the desk, and went back to her magazine.

"Just wait there, he'll be down in moment." Harry stepped back and tried not to show how annoyed he felt at her rude behavior. The next moment he nearly winced in annoyance as she began to pop her gum. He was rather grateful when a man came hurrying in just a few seconds later.

"Ah, Mr. Potter! So glad you could make it! I'm Gunther Berta, the Director of Mythological Research here at the Royal Academy of Magic, I'm so glad you could come today!" The man continued to be talkative as he steered Harry through the halls into a wing that had a sign stating 'Mythological Research'.

Overall Harry was not very impressed by the man. He was of average height and slightly overweight. His mousy brown hair was scarce and he had a comb-over that did a bad job of hiding the fact that the middle-aged man was going bald. His tendency to talk a lot and repeat himself did not help Harry's first impression at all, although the man was rather nice and seemed to know what he was talking about.

His meeting at the Academy lasted for almost three full hours as Harry met everyone on the staff, toured the facilities, and discussed security. Shortly before leaving he placed the Elder Wand in a special vault and had the security charms in place and tied to him. Then he was given a pass to apparate directly to the Mythological Research division (which Harry thought looked exactly like some muggle laboratory with everything being so sterile and white).

Then he finally glanced at his watch and noticed that it was nearly two o'clock. Being late was getting to be a bad habit of his, he thought ruefully as he apparated to the edge of the wards surrounding the Burrow. He then began to walk towards the house itself.

Upon reaching the Burrow Harry saw a sight that would make him laugh for years whenever he recalled it. Sticking out of one of the windows was a pair of legs that were quickly followed by the rest of Ron. Harry raised his eyebrow at his best mate.

"Do I want to know why you just crawled out the window?"

Ron shrugged in response, "You're late and mum was worried, as were our wives. Completely mental and they're guarding all the entrances. The only way to escape was through the window. Hurry up and go in so they don't murder us. Those women are bloody mental, you're only an hour late!"

"Let me get this straight. You climbed out a window to escape your mum, sister, and wife because they were worried about me and taking it out on everyone else?" Harry smirked at Ron.

"Just get in there and calm them down already!" he told Harry.

"Whatever you say, mate. Just know that I'll never forget the fact that you climbed out a window to escape your mum at age 28, and you already a father of two." Harry said as he walked toward the house. Moments later Ginny ran out and hugged him in relief, which quickly turned to anger.

"You git! You said you'd let us know if you were going to be late! We thought something had happened for you to be an hour late!" she scolded her husband using the tone she reserved for when the boys had done something that really got them in trouble.

Harry tried not to appear ashamed, like his sons did when she used that tone. "I didn't get the chance to do so. I've been at the Academy for the past three hours and had no way to contact you."

"Next time you find a way, young man." Harry felt even more ashamed when he saw Molly standing in the doorway, looking quite stern. The woman might be a grandmother but she still demanded respect as the matriarch of the Weasley family, especially since Muriel passed away a few years ago. "What good is your promotion to Head Auror if you never learn to delegate the unimportant things?"

Ron gave Harry a look that said 'I'm going to kill you for unleashing that monster' and Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm working on it, Molly. Do you have anything left over from lunch? I didn't get a chance to eat yet and I'm starving."

That statement immediately distracted Molly and she led them all into the kitchen where she began pulling out food. Harry had long since learned that the best way to distract Molly was to let her feed you. That tactic had yet to fail him. Unfortunately it didn't work at all on his wife.

* * *

A/N: This is a story I wrote a while ago and it's already complete, so expect the next chapter next week! Oh, and this is a story I wrote for a challenge on SIYE at least a year ago, maybe two, that I never got around to posting on here, but am doing so now. Enjoy!


	2. Part II

It had been almost a month since Harry had first dropped off the Elder Wand at the Academy, and he had yet to see any results from the study. The only thing he had learned so far was that the door into the lab was often stuck. Oh, and that someone from the Ministry had stopped by the day before. Harry stifled a grin at the memory of the incident.

The unlucky official had come on the day that Hermione had decided to join him on his daily trips to check on the proceedings in the lab. The man had walked away with a visible headache and Harry's ribs had hurt from trying not to laugh. It had been years since the Ministry had been that incompetent, but Hermione was still able to deliver a more than sufficient lecture. It probably helped that she was also a mother now, and had honed her lecturing skills on both her husband and her children (mainly rose since Hugo wasn't yet old enough to really understand, although that didn't mean she had never tried).

At the thought of Hermione, Harry quickened his pace since he was supposed to be home in a little while to have dinner with his own family and with Ron, Hermione, and their children. It was a weekly tradition and this time it was their turn to host the gathering. He had managed to avoid being late for almost a month and he didn't want to ruin his record.

Harry reached the door to the lab just as the thought occurred to him, and he shook his head to clear it as he reached for the handle. Harry frowned as he tried to open the heavy door into the lab. It was stuck, again. After several moments of trying to push it forcefully, but still gently so as not to break it, he put his weight into it. The door sprang open quickly with a bam! "Eugh." Thud. And then some more groaning. Harry looked down at the man holding his seemingly broken nose, which was dripping blood on the sterile floor, in astonishment.

What really caught Harry's attention was the fact that when the man (who he now recognized as one of the researchers by the name of Heider) had fallen a wand had slipped out of his robes and was now lying at Harry's feet. Keeping his wand pointed at Heider, Harry slowly bent and picked up the Elder wand from the floor. Then he took a step forward and cast a spell, incapacitating the apparent thief, and then he raised the alarm.

Harry wasn't sure what Heider was doing with the Elder Wand, but he knew it wasn't anything good. That went against the guidelines he had set down when agreeing to the study of the Deathly Hallows since only Heider was in the room, and he wasn't on the list of people who Harry had cleared to supervise work on the wand.

Harry sighed, completely sure that he would once again be late. It was really getting to be a bad habit of his. Security guards came rushing in, and he had to explain everything and then more people came and then everything really, truly became a giant mess. There was absolutely no way he wasn't going to be late, and for that matter, escape the lecture that was coming his way after this.

He was right about being late, for he didn't manage to leave for another two hours, and had managed to acquire another mystery (the other one being the serial killer that was still on the loose). This one was who had placed the Imperious Curse on Alvin Heider. He was still thinking about this when he did leave, by Floo instead of Apparation, with the Elder Wand safely hidden in his robes. Also, with no one realizing that the Elder Wand in the safe was a fake, courtesy of George, that he had taken to carrying around a few weeks ago.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry was also right that he would receive a lecture on tardiness. He did, however, manage to completely derail Hermione and Ginny, who were lecturing him, by telling them someone had attempted to steal the Elder Wand. By the time the entire story was told Ron was still laughing about the door and both of the women were concerned that the attempt had even occurred, especially an attempt with the Imperious Curse.

Harry gave a small smirk as he brought out the Elder Wand. "Don't worry; I'm not stupid enough to just leave it there, or to let them know I took it with me. One of George's fakes is currently staying there. Hopefully no one will notice until this problem is solved."

"But where are you going to hide it, Harry?" Hermione asked while worrying her lip.

"I was hoping that I could leave it here with you. Just hide it somewhere in your home. I trust you can come up with something that'll protect it well enough, Hermione. Just don't tell anyone it's here."

"Just where are the other two Hallows, mate? Have you got them well hidden? You don't want anyone getting near them," Ron added when Harry had stopped speaking.

Harry sighed, ran his hand through his hair, and glanced at the clock. "I'll only tell you that I've hidden the Resurrection Stone someplace that means a lot to me and I keep it there under the Fidelius. I'm the only person who knows where it is. My cloak I've kept under certain charms back at Grimmauld Place, but I'm thinking I'll start carrying it around with me again. Can never be too careful."

Ginny spoke up for the first time since Harry had began his explanation. "Then we know what we're going to do. Now, I think it's time to get going. We have a bunch of kids over there whose bedtime is nearing."

Harry smiled gratefully at her, knowing she was trying to distract him, and began to gather up his children. The friends said goodbye and then the Potters departed, leaving the Elder Wand, and a rubber phoenix bath toy behind (it was Lily's toy, she had refused to leave home without it).

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry took a deep breath before opening the door to the lab. Inside the artificial light created dark shadows on the walls. Gunther was sitting at his desk and before him was a desk empty of all but another rubber phoenix. Harry tried not to wince at the stern look on Gunther's face and straightened his back.

"In order to make sure that our security met your standards, and so that no one else could make an attempt to steal the Elder Wand, we have delayed our research for almost a week. Imagine my surprise when we went to continue this morning and found a bath toy for children had replaced the irreplaceable artifact." Gunther's voice had been pleasant and was growing steadily angrier. "Then we tell you immediately what had happened and you say that it's all taken care of, and you'll be by to explain later. So please, Mr. Potter, explain to me what has happened to my artifact!"

The last of his speech had been shouted and Gunther now stood, quivering with suppressed rage. "What do you mean by 'your' artifact, Mr. Berta? The Deathly Hallows remain in my possession. I do not appreciate what you are insinuating by that statement. For now research will be halted and the Hallows hidden and protected until such time as the thief has been caught. At that time I will make the decision as to whether or not to allow research to continue."

"I will not allow you to do this to me, young man. You may have possession of the artifacts, but that does not mean you have the knowledge to make such a decision. Leave that to the experts." Gunther's chest was heaving in rage and he raised his hand to point at Harry. "Give me back that wand, boy."

Harry was reminded briefly of his Uncle Vernon before he turned his back on the man. "I will be in contact with you soon, Mr. Berta. Goodbye." He had only gone a few steps into the empty main lab when a sharp crack that sounded as if someone had Apparated split the air, and Harry turned back to see Gunther holding a gun aloft. He pulled the trigger and blood blossomed as the bullet struck Harry.

He fell to the ground and tried to get back up as black began to enter his vision. The last thing he heard was Gunther's voice, "So ends the Great Harry Potter. Brought down by a simple Muggle gun. Hopefully your wife with the pretty hair will be more accommodating in getting me my wand. I've stayed away from her for this long since you've been helping my goal, but now you've gotten in my way and I can't afford to be so nice anymore." Harry tried to move but his entire body felt as if it was weighted with lead and then he succumbed to the pull of the dark.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginn y woke slowly and it took her even longer to realize where she was. Then she looked around at her surroundings and nearly screamed in horror. There, right in front of her, was an almost assembled body of a woman made of pieces from more than one woman. She remembered Harry's words and all the articles about the 'doll maker' as the newspaper had dubbed the serial killer. The only thing that kept her from screaming was the gag currently choking her.

She struggled against the ropes tying her to a chair until someone walked into the room. Her movements stopped immediately, she was terrified that she had attracted the murderer's attention.

"Mrs. Potter, I'm so glad you have rejoined the land of the waking once more. I've a few questions that I hope you will be able to answer." Ginny's eyes widened as she recognized the voice of the head of Mythological Research at the Royal Academy of Magic, who Harry had introduced to her. "Or at least be much more willing to answer than your husband was."

She nearly burst out crying but she managed to control herself as Gunther entered the half-light to remove her gag. She spat in his face. "Get away from me you monster! I won't tell you anything," she cried.

She found it rather creepy when he smirked at her since his face was in the shadows and his white teeth stood out. "I'm sure you'll rethink that decision, Ginny. Harry's still alive, but that could be easily rectified." Her heart hammered in her chest hard enough to hurt but she managed to hide her terror. "So you will tell me what I want to know."

"Why are you doing this? What have you done to Harry? Where am I? Why don't I remember how I got here?" she asked, while her anger slowly began to break through her fear. "What did you do?"

Gunther smirked and went over to where the half-assembled woman lay, on what now looked like an altar of some sort. "I am doing this because my wife, my beautiful Julia was killed last year. I am doing this because I can bring her back as long as I have the Elder Wand at me side. Maybe even the other two Deathly Hallows so that I can truly mastered death." The man smiled and shook his head, almost as if he was a parent admonishing a child. "If only Harry hadn't gotten in my way I wouldn't have had to kill him."

"You said he wasn't dead!" Ginny cut in, heart in her throat once more.

"Yes, I did didn't I? Well, he's alive right now but he'll bleed out pretty soon and then I'll return to the place I left his body and retrieve that wonderful Invisibility Cloak." Gunther was stroking the thing on the altar almost reverently as he spoke. "Yes, I believe I'll do just that. I wouldn't anyone seeing my Julia's perfect body before its ready, now would I?"

Ginny's stomach turned at the scene before her, but she didn't interrupt the mad man. "Oh yes, to answer your question you got here because I brought you here after disposing of your husband's body. You don't remember because I stunned you before you even knew I was there. I'm sure your children and houseguests are most frantic now, but they'll have to wait.

"I want you to tell me where the Elder Wand is and I want you to tell-" his next words were cut off as an explosion shattered the wall to Ginny's right and pieces of it went fly everywhere. One the size of desk landed on Gunther and pinned him to the altar. Ginny's world was once more exposed to light as the bright sun shone into the room and she heard the voices of her brothers' calling her name as she watched them climb into the room through the wall.

All six of them were there and they immediately converged upon her and untied her before embracing her. She hugged Ron last and then wiped the tears from her eyes before looking around for the one she knew couldn't be very far away. She didn't see him and she turned to her brothers in desperation. "Where's Harry? Where's my husband?" she asked and only Ron could look her in the face because it held some of the same anguish hers did. "Tell me he's at home with the children! Tell me he's with the aurors! Tell me you know where he is! Tell me he's all right!" she cried hysterically.

"He hasn't been seen since he left the office, a few minutes before he was supposed to be home. We stopped looking for him when we found you and the Doll Maker's hideout because we thought he'd be here too. The search is starting again now, but there isn't much hope." Ron's voice was hoarse and he seemed to have trouble speaking. "His blood's been splattered all over the main lab at the Mythological Research department at the Royal Academy of Magic. They say that…no one could…survive that amount of…blood loss. They're mainly just…searching for his…body."

Ginny gave a strangled cry and fresh tears escaped. "Take me home. I need to be with my children until my husband comes back." Bill looked ready to say something but she silenced him with a look. "He's Harry Potter, he's lived through things no one else has. I believe he'll come back to me, he always has before." she said quietly.

An auror came forward with a portkey and moments later she was at home. She ran into the living room and found her mum staying with her children. She embraced Molly briefly before the boys woke and then took Lily into her arms. Ginny sat on the old couch with one of her sons on each of her sides and her daughter in her arms while Molly left to get some sleep.

"Mummy? 'M glad you're home. When's Daddy comin'?" Ginny swallowed her tears once more at James's innocent question.

"He'll be here soon, love. Now go back to sleep." she whispered and stroked his messy hair with the hand that wasn't holding Lily.

"M'kay." he answered and slipped back into oblivion.

She lost track of time as she sat there, waiting for some sign, some news that Harry was all right. Eventually she fell asleep.


	3. Part III

Ginny felt like she being pulled apart in a million different directions. She remembered feeling this way, a bit, in her sixth year when Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been on the run but at least then she had known that no news was good news. Now she knew nothing, she felt nothing. The only time she didn't feel numb was when she was with her children and even then she was just a shadow of herself.

It had been a week, an entire week, since she had last seen or even heard from her husband. The only information they had was that he had visited the Academy and had been wounded, and had bled all over the place. He hadn't fought his attacker, there was no spell residue. In fact, they didn't even know what Berta had used to attack Harry. All they knew was that Harry had been wounded and then he was gone, absolutely no trace of him.

Ginny had a savage sort of pleasure when she thought of Berta. Her rescue had been possible because of a tracking charm Harry had put into her necklace and so her brothers had been able to find her. Then, when the aurors hadn't been able to get into the building through any conventional means George had blown up the wall. The rubble that had landed on Berta had killed, slowly crushing him to death although he had already had fatal injuries from crashing into the altar. The only ting Ginny regretted about the encounter was the fact that because he was dead they couldn't interrogate him.

So Ginny lived in a state of non-life, unsure whether the man she loved was still alive and what she should tell their children. None of them were stupid and had figured out something was wrong because their father wasn't home and their mother was almost unresponsive.  
Lily was so desolate about the fact that her father was nowhere to be found that whenever she heard someone apparating in she would run to see if it was Harry. The boys were doing their best to be good, somehow understanding in the way children have that their mother needed them to do so.

At the moment she was sitting at her kitchen table with a mug of tea in the early morning. All three of her children had yet to wake and she was trying to enjoy the quiet. She had always hated the morning and waking, but after marrying a morning person and having children she had come to love the time in the morning before the children woke and it was just her and Harry.

Now the house seemed even colder than it had when she had first entered it when she was a young girl. Without Harry there to brighten it she almost couldn't stand being there, although she loved their home. If he was dead she didn't know if she would be able to continue living there, where memories of him were around every corner.

"You're being ridiculous." Ginny muttered allowed and shook her head to clear it. "He'll be home soon, he'll be fine." She had been trying to keep herself from despairing and turning into a complete shell of herself, and she had only just barely been succeeding.

She got up to take care of her empty mug and nearly dropped it in shock as Ron apparated into the room. His face was grim and he sat down, motioning for her to join him. She did and then he explained his presence so early in the morning.

"I got an owl this morning, there's been some pressure from higher ups in the Ministry. They believe there's sufficient evidence to declare Harry dead." Ginny gave a strangled sob, and hated herself for being weak and putting that freshly pained expression on her brother's face. "They say if no one's found him in a week then we're never going to find him and we should save the time and declare him dead now."

Neither of them spoke for a moment, both horrified by the thought. Then the voice they had been dying to hear cut through their thoughts.

"I hope you haven't declared me dead quite yet. It would take a lot of paperwork to repeal that declaration." Both of their heads shot up and looked to see Harry standing in the doorway.  
None of them moved at first, as they observed each other. Ginny drank in the sight of him. His hair was the same black, untamable mess it always was, he was the same height. His eyes were happy to see them, but they were also tired, his face pale. There were a few half-healed cuts and bruises on his face and his hands, his only exposed skin. It was his left arm in a bright blue sling, and white bandages from the same shoulder peaking out under his shirt that drew their eyes.

That didn't stall Ginny for long and moments later she ran to him and flung her arms around his neck in an embrace. She buried her face in his right shoulder and began to sob in relief. Harry brought his right arm up to stroke her hair help to calm her down.

"Harry! Harry! Harry! Oh, thank Merlin!" she whispered, "Don't you ever do that to me again! I thought you were dead and, oh thank Merlin!"

"I won't, I promise." he told her and she pulled back so that she could kiss him. Then she laughed through her tears.

Ron still had the shocked look on his face but he was obviously managing the beginning stages of overcoming that shock. "Mate, what in…the bloody hell?" he asked haltingly and Ginny laughed again, giddy with relief and happiness.

Harry sighed and guided Ginny over to the table so that the three of them could sit down together. "I better start from the beginning. I went to Berta's office and got in an argument over the Elder Wand and as I left he shot me with a muggle gun. I blacked out after that and when I came to I was in a muggle hospital.

"They found me in a London alley and my wand and the Invisibility Cloak were both still with me. I didn't wake until yesterday, otherwise I would have contacted you much sooner than today. I was released from the hospital this morning and I came directly here. That's all I can really tell you."

Ron and Ginny exchanged a glance but it was Ron who spoke. "That's all right, what matters is that you're okay, mate." Ginny nodded and squeezed Harry's hand.

He smiled at the two of them before asking his own question. "What happened while I was gone, I know you caught Berta and he's dead, but how?" Ron looked startled at that statement and wanted to know how Harry had known. "Oh, it came from my connection to the Deathly Hallows. I know when someone dies. It's not really much but if I've met the person than I know if they're alive or if they're dead, that's really all."

"Hermione's going to want to question you about that. I'm surprised I haven't heard of it before now." Ron said.

Harry gave a one shouldered shrug. "It just never came up. Now, if you don't mind I haven't seen my children in a week and this whole fiasco with the Royal Academy of Magic and the 'Doll Maker' is finally over so I would like to move on. We've got more things to worry about, such as how we're going to deal with the Deathly Hallows now."

"Oh, I don't think we really have to worry about it. The Stone is safely hidden and is perfectly safe and Hermione returned the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's tomb. The Invisibility Cloak can stay with you, it's a Potter heirloom after all." Ginny smiled up at Harry. "There, problem solved. Unless, of course, you think of the fact that George is now technically the master of the Elder Wand..."


End file.
